When I initially heard about this news, my heart sank into my stomach. “Are they pushing forward with a remake of Labyrinth with Depp in the Bowie role?” I thought to myself.

No, no they’re not. And thank god for that!

But Johnny Depp did just sign up for a movie called Labyrinth, and it sounds like it could be a potentially riveting flick. This Labyrinth is going to be a thriller, and it’ll follow the true story of Los Angeles detective Russell Poole, who uncovered a hive of corruption within the police department while looking into the unsolved murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.

Depp will play Poole, and will hopefully turn in the kind of top shelf performance he brought to last year’s Black Mass– which earned him some of the best reviews he’s gotten in years. 

A huge element that will help Depp turn Labyrinth into one to keep an eye out for is director Brad Furman. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, it should. Furman directed the fantastic The Lincoln Lawyer, a film which helped usher in the rejuvenation of Matthew McConaughey’s career. The tone andstyle of that movie makes Furman the perfect man to tell Poole’s story, and I can’t recommend that film enough.

They’ll be working off of a script by Christian Contreras, which is based on the Randall Sullivan book that is also called Labyrinth.

Consider me intrigued. If it’s Lincoln Lawyer Furman, and Black Mass-focused Depp, this thing could be a total knockout. 

Incidentally, if the script by Contreras is dynamite, and this movie does well, it’ll be the exact kind of “win” for the Latino filmmaking community that I described in yesterday’s LOS FANBOYS Podcast. If you haven’t heard our spirited chat on the matter, CLICK HERE. 

SOURCE: Screen Daily